Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [268]

Ever since the L-Gate was detected, every time Chen Lin contacted Qlipoth Fort, he would inevitably hear someone mentioning Clara’s name.

Not because people were complaining about how expensive or resource-intensive her research projects were.

Not because her team had done something world-shattering again.

No—what people really talked about was how many days Clara had gone without leaving her office or lab.

How many days she had gone without eating.

How many times Serval had dragged her out to eat, only for her to pass out and require a sedative injection just to sleep for a few days.

The year Jarilo-VI was liberated, Clara had just turned fourteen.

In Chen Lin’s past life, a fourteen-year-old would have been just barely finishing middle school. The biggest challenge in their life would have been the upcoming high school entrance exams—a hundred or so test papers and thirty-something textbooks, probably the most difficult hurdle they’d ever faced. Beyond that, they wouldn’t need to worry about anything else.

Compared to that… Clara had shouldered burdens no child should ever have to carry.

While Chen Lin embarked on his Xianzhou journey, he had certainly faced danger—but exhaustion? Not really. In fact, he had gained a lot from the trip: alliances, prestige, and even the camaraderie of the Xianzhou Luofu people.

He had gained an older sworn brother—a general who tried to slack off from work at every opportunity.

An older sworn sister—a naive woman who was far too easy to fool.

And he had spent nights drinking, basking in glory and triumph.

Meanwhile, far away in Jarilo, Clara had been endlessly immersed in numbers and steel, devoting herself to scientific progress at an age when she should have been playing and growing up carefree.

No matter what she accomplished, no matter how important her research became, she never sought recognition. She never let it inflate her ego.

Instead, she constantly asked herself—Could I have done better?

She bore this crushing weight upon herself for one reason alone:

She wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chen Lin.

And she was determined to make it happen.

But today…

For the first time, Clara allowed herself to be a child.

Under Chen Lin’s encouragement, she boarded ride after ride—attractions she had only ever heard about but never dared to experience.

This wasn’t like seeing the vastness of space from a research vessel.

It wasn’t like witnessing the breathtaking beauty of alien landscapes.

It wasn’t the thrilling curiosity of stepping into an unexplored anomaly.

No.

This was pure, simple joy.

It was like stepping back in time—to those days in the Underworld, when she had first met Chen Lin, when he would always find ways to entertain her.

Back then, these two—a grown man and a little girl—would crouch by a stream or in front of an abandoned mine, watching ants carry food and building materials to their nests.

Neither of them truly understood why it was entertaining.

But somehow, at just the right moments, something about it would always make them laugh.

Back then, Clara would sit by the fire, listening to her big brother’s stories—

Stories of office politics, of schoolyard hierarchies, of how an overworked salaryman survived in a foreign land, far from home…

Clara had never had many real friends.

In the settlement, the aunts and uncles treated her like a little princess.

Svarog, though he called her a friend, was more of a guardian.

So when she met Chen Lin, she couldn't help but cling to him.

She would run ten miles across rough terrain just to find him in town, just to talk to him.

She loved sitting by the fire with him.

She wished she could do it every single night.

She loved listening to his stories—stories that seemed so mundane, yet were so impossibly out of reach for her.

A life where she never had to worry about going hungry.

Where she never had to scavenge through noblemen’s trash just to find scraps of cloth to sew into winter clothes.

Where she never had to travel miles just to fetch a bucket of water.

Where she never had to fear that one day, a horde of Fragmentum monsters would storm the settlement and wipe everyone out.

Every time she heard those stories, she thought to herself—

"If only we could live like that… everyone would be so happy."

"If that world were real, then the uncles and aunts wouldn’t disappear every time they went to fetch water—leaving behind disabled partners and orphaned children, never to return."

And then, Chen Lin promised her that world.

He promised all of the Underworld that world.

A world where there were no Fragmentum monsters.

No starvation.

No torn, ragged clothes.

No cruel separation between the rich and the poor.

A world where everyone could dream and chase those dreams.

Before leaving, he had smiled and told her,

"That world is coming soon. Just wait a little longer."

But the next day…

A scout from the Upper District came running into the settlement, breathless and panicked.

He told them—

Chen Lin had been betrayed.

The Supreme Guardian and the great noble families had turned against him.

The people of the Upper District had erupted in outrage, launching massive protests—strikes, boycotts, demonstrations.

And the noble families?

They had sent in riot squads.

They had unleashed massacres to silence the resistance.

The streets were running red with blood.

Clara…

Clara had seen so many people disappear in her lifetime.

She had lived through so many tragedies.

She had seen so many people leave this world without warning, without saying goodbye.

She shouldn’t have been surprised.

She should have been numb to it by now.

But when she heard that the man who had healed her frostbite, who had taken her on adventures, who had taught her to read and write, who had made her a proper meal plan so she could grow healthy—

The man who had sat by the fire and told her stories—

The man who had brought food, jobs, and hope to the settlement—

When she heard that he was gone—

It felt like the sky had collapsed.

It felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Hearing that someone you love has passed—it wasn’t always about gut-wrenching screams or uncontrollable sobbing. Sometimes, it was just the quiet chaos of losing a piece of your world, leaving only cold, hollow numbness in its place.

Clara never understood why someone like Chen Lin—someone so genuinely good—could be hated by the nobles of Clipper Palace.

She never understood why the Supreme Guardian, who was supposed to protect the people, would send soldiers to violently suppress civilians.

She especially never understood why the Upper District citizens, who had always looked down on sewer rats like them, suddenly rose up in revolt upon hearing of Chen Lin’s supposed death.

When the border troops joined forces with defectors from Qlipoth Fort’s elite guards, they announced that they would no longer follow any orders from the palace. Instead, they declared their allegiance to Bronya as the new ruler.

Leaving only a small force behind to hold the critical passes, they stormed the city in full-blown mutiny.

Thanks to Clara’s persuasion, Svarog agreed to mobilize his mechanical forces to aid the border troops.

But by the time their army entered the Upper District…

Cocolia’s regime had already fallen.

And—Chen Lin wasn’t dead after all.

When he awoke, Belobog voted to merge with the Empire.

And the utopian life he had promised miraculously became reality.

He did it.

The brother she had admired so much had fulfilled his vow.

He had built a nation unlike any other.

So Clara couldn’t afford to fall behind!

From that moment on, every single day, Clara pushed herself to catch up.

Until she had accomplished something truly worthy of him, she didn’t dare to meet him again.

She refused to indulge in the peaceful life he had created.

She feared that if she stopped, if she slowed down, one day she would look up and realize that even his shadow was too far away to see.

This cycle had continued until today.

She had been in her lab, documenting particle collision data, when—

Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the armpits and lifted her into the air.

She almost screamed.

“Alright, kiddo, let’s go have some fun.”

“But… there’s still so much work…”

“I’m the governor, and I’m not worried. What are you so anxious about? You keep pushing yourself like this—you’re gonna collapse one day.”

She wanted to tell him that she still hadn’t achieved the dream she had once shared with him.

But when she looked into his eyes…

She realized.

He had never cared about any of that.

Not the research.

Not the results.

Not the political games and power struggles.

The only thing he cared about was them—their well-being, their happiness.

And compared to that… work didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

“…Big Brother… put me down…”

“Not unless you agree to come with me. Let’s see who gives in first.”

“Clara will go… b-but Clara needs to change clothes first.”

“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing? It’s got that classic ‘overworked scientist’ aesthetic—I used to look exactly like that when I was stuck in the lab all day.”

...

Seated on a bench, Clara held a warm drink in her hands, sipping from the straw in tiny gulps.

Her legs, too short to reach the ground, swung back and forth.

She looked just like a little kid—giddy, content, carefree.

Clara had never gotten used to wearing shoes. It was a habit from her childhood—whenever she had to wear shoes and socks, she would trip over herself while walking.

But her lab required strict sterility.

She couldn’t just waltz in with dirty, bare feet.

So after awakening her psionic abilities, Clara had developed a unique technique—she would coat her feet (or her entire body) in a thin layer of psionic energy, creating an artificial, sterile barrier.

It had the added bonus of functioning as a protective shield—ordinary weapons couldn’t even scratch her skin.

She watched the bustling amusement park, observing the people around her.

Parents with children, laughing together.

Couples, strolling hand in hand, whispering sweet nothings.

Merchants, chatting warmly with familiar customers—sometimes even giving away extra food for free, accepting nothing in return except a simple “thank you.”

When did the world become this beautiful?

Before she knew it, a hand reached over and gently wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth.

“Six hours for work. Six hours for family and friends. Six hours of free time. Six hours of rest.”

Chen Lin picked up his teacup, smiling faintly.

That smile—she couldn’t tell whether he was mocking something or quietly satisfied with the world he had built.

His sudden words startled Clara.

She touched her cheek and turned toward him.

Sunlight streamed down, casting a golden glow across his face.

And for the first time, Clara truly noticed—

Chen Lin had changed.

His hair had grown long, now tied into a high ponytail.

Over a simple white undershirt, he wore a loose, cream-colored robe with wide sleeves.

A jade bead bracelet adorned his wrist, exposed to the open air.

And when he stretched—Clara could just barely catch a glimpse of his skin beneath the hem of his robe.

This wasn’t Jarilo’s style of clothing.

Who had chosen this outfit for him?

One thing was for sure—it definitely wasn’t Chen Lin himself.

Everyone in their circle knew how awful his fashion sense was.

The leaves above rustled in the breeze, dappling his face with shifting light and shadow.

Sharp, well-defined features.

A nose both straight and refined.

Lips neither too thin nor too full.

Eyes soft and warm, yet carrying a quiet intensity.

His face had a strange quality to it—

To those who favored masculine charm, he exuded strength.

To those drawn to delicate beauty, he radiated elegance.

No matter who looked at him, they would perceive their own ideal standard of attractiveness.

For a split second—Clara’s mind went blank.

She quickly averted her gaze, cheeks glowing with a telltale blush.

But no matter how hard she tried to hide it, the brightness in her eyes betrayed her.

She had never been so grateful to the mysterious benefactor who had chosen Chen Lin’s outfit.

Then, his next words snapped her out of her daze.

“You know, some people never follow my schedule. It’s one thing to voluntarily work overtime… but burning through every single hour of the day is just ridiculous.”

He glanced at her, tone casual—

“Maybe we should all start working 20 hours a day, sleeping just 4 hours. No more free time. I mean, psionics can handle it, right? What do you think?”

“N-no way!” Clara panicked, horrified.

“But there are some people who’ve been working nonstop for over a year now. Might as well make it official—let’s work them to death and just replace them with fresh recruits.”

His gaze landed on her, piercing.

Clara immediately shrank down, voice barely above a whisper.

“…I’m sorry… Clara just wanted to help…”

A warm, heavy hand ruffled her hair.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to contribute. I’m the same way.”

Chen Lin sighed.

“But if you lock yourself away and refuse to step outside, you’ll never find the answers you’re looking for.”

“Sometimes, the best solutions come when you least expect them. A child’s imagination. A casual street conversation. Even something as simple as watching an ant crawl by.”

He gestured toward the people around them.

“If you don’t even understand what your people need, how can you create something that truly serves them?”

Clara’s lips parted slightly.

She finally understood.

For a long time, she sat in silence, deep in thought.

Then—

Her eyes turned misty, and she looked up at him.

Chen Lin immediately panicked.

Wait—what did I say?!

“I’ll take better care of myself… I promise…” Clara sniffled.

She hesitated, then asked timidly,

“…Can I come find you whenever I run into trouble?”

“Of course. No matter how busy I am, I’ll always make time.”

“For as long as I want?”

“For as long as you want. Anytime, anywhere.”

Clara’s eyes curved into a brilliant smile.

“Then it’s a deal!”

Chen Lin nodded, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the little girl was… off. He just couldn’t put his finger on exactly what.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Seele sent a message—her unit was already escorting the Xianzhou diplomatic delegation and would arrive in about two hours.

Chen Lin eventually gave up trying to figure out what was bothering him. Instead, he hoisted the little girl onto his shoulders, letting her ride atop him as they made their way back to Clipper Palace, laughing and chatting along the way.

After all the commotion, he noticed that his hair tie had loosened.

Without a word, Clara reached out, gently untying it—then carefully retying it, her fingers deft and precise.

---

T/N: I hope Clara takes cares of herself more and hmmm high ponytail and a robe over a simple shirt hmm hmmm hmmm mhmmm hmm

This is a fan translation of 在星穹铁道点群星科技树真的没问题吗? by 杏雨诗韵 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!